Six of the best drinks to pair with a scotch egg

For those unfamiliar with the delicacy a scotch egg is a whole egg wrapped in sausagemeat, then coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.

Traditionally the egg would have been hard boiled but more recently the fashion has been to serve them soft and even runny like this version from the Opera Tavern. And in some cases - presumably in a vain attempt to make them more healthy - they’re now baked which is wrong on every level.

The classic pork casing has also been subject to endless variations from black pudding to smoked haddock which seems more like an outsized croqueta. The venerable National Trust even does a pea and mint scotch egg while Sainsbury’s magazine offers a teriyaki chicken one.

But assuming your scotch egg is of the classic British variety the six drinks I would go for are

Cider

Better than beer IMHO, apple being a natural accompaniment to pork. Particularly good with a pork and leek scotch egg.

Apple juice

By the same token apple juice is the best option for non-drinkers

A pale ale or IPA

You want a beer with a touch of sweetness so a contemporary pale ale or IPA is better than a classic bitter, particularly if you like a dollop of piccalilli on the side

Cava

Champagne is a bit posh for a scotch egg and prosecco a touch sweet but Spanish cave just hits the spot, especially if you’re a fan of a runny yolk. (Fizz is one of the wines that can deal with eggs and always a good match for deep-fried food)

Which wines pair best with eggs?

Rosé

With a summery scotch egg with salad (and even salad cream) you can’t beat a glass of rosé

A glass of fruity Bordeaux

Given that a scotch egg is half way to being a cooked breakfast and that Bordeaux goes surprisingly well with bacon and eggs I reckon it’s a good wine to drink with a classic Scotch egg too. I don’t mean some treasured old bottle from the cellar but a young juicy fruity claret of which there are plenty. Much-maligned merlot would be great too.

See also Top wine - and other - matches for sausages

Photo © Wandering Pickle at shutterstock.com

What to drink with your favourite Christmas snacks (updated)

You may think it’s utterly pointless to waste time wondering what would be the best match for Christmas snacks. For most people the answer would be prosecco.

But suppose you were going to sit down and enjoy a packet of your favourite snack with a bevvy of your choice what would it be?

In general it’s more useful to focus on the snack flavouring than the snack shape.

Salty snacks pretty well all go with a refreshing lager, cheesy ones, you may be surprised to hear, with a chardonnay, meaty snacks - I’m personally channelling homemade sausage rolls rather than roast beef Monster Munch or Bacon Frazzles - with a hearty red and fishy snacks - who grazes on fishy snacks other than maybe smoked salmon canapés? - with a crisp white such as sauvignon blanc.

Crisps

Remarkably good with champagne (fried egg-flavoured crisps even more so). As indeed are chips

Hula Hoops/Pringles/French Fries and other salty snacks

Can’t beat a cold lager IMHO though with Doritos I’d be tempted to down a margarita

Cheeselets, Cheesy Wotsits, Mini Cheddars, Cheese Footballs

Oddly a good full-flavoured but fresh-tasting chardonnay ticks the box with cheese-flavoured snacks.

Sausages on sticks

Often coated in a sticky honey and mustard glaze which can make lighter wines taste a bit thin. A plumptious shiraz would do the job although with sausage rolls I’d favour a Côtes du Rhône. And with cocktail sausages? A German or Czech lager (also the obvious match for pretzels)

Cheese and pineapple on sticks

Babycham

Monster Munch

Tend to be more robustly seasoned and meatier than other snacks so think macho reds such as Malbec or a big IPA

Twiglets

All about the Marmite - go for milk stout or porter

Salted peanuts

Salty, yes, but more about the peanuts. What about a pina colada?

Salted almonds

More in the Spanish mould so definitely a fino or amontillado sherry

Vol au vents

Those light-as-air pastry cases deserve a glass of champagne or, at the very least, a French crémant

Smoked salmon canapés

Champagne would be most people’s go-to though I personally prefer a glass of sauvignon blanc - or a subtle Speyside malt

10 different drinks to pair with smoked salmon

Prawn crackers, mini poppadums and other spicy snacks

Gin and tonic really hits the spot.

Popcorn

Depends whether it’s sweet or savoury. With sweet popcorn I strongly recommend a well chilled glass or pale cream sherry or - yes - a glass of prosecco. With salted popcorn make it Cava.

See also how to make a Classic Cheese Ball

For further inspiration there’s a new book out called The Crisp Sommelier which would make a fun stocking filler.

Top wine (and other) pairings for sausages

There are very few occasions on which sausages don’t appeal but what’s the best pairing for them?

As always it depends on the type of sausage and the way they’re cooked but I personally find that beer and cider are just as good matches as wine.

Sausage and mash

The quintessential British sausage dish is almost always better accompanied by Britain’s national drink, beer than wine, especially if served with onion gravy. (The same goes for toad in the hole.)

I’d pick a hearty ale like Timothy Taylor Landlord but if the gravy is dark and intense as in this recipe for sausages with rich Guinness gravy you could even try a stout or a porter. If you don’t drink beer a hearty southern French or Spanish red or Argentine malbec would all work well.

Pork and leek sausages

Lighter sausages such as pork and leek or pork and apple pair well with cider. You could also drink white wine with them - I’d suggest a chenin blanc or unoaked or subtly oaked chardonnay.

Hot spicy sausages e.g. chorizo and merguez

Spice generally calls for wines with a touch of sweetness but with sausages like chorizo, merguez or Cajun-spiced sausages I’d be looking primarily for a red with ripe fruit: one of the new wave Spanish reds such as Montsant, an unoaked Douro red, or a shiraz, pinotage or zinfandel. Avoid reds that are heavily oaked though as oak-ageing tends to accentuate chilli heat.

Sausage casserole

It depends on the other ingredients in the casserole. If onion, apple and cider are involved I’d drink cider with it too. If the sauce is tomato-based or includes red wine like Tom Kerridge’s recipe for sausage, tomato and butterbean stew I’d go for a rustic red similar to those I’ve suggested for sausage and mash. A decent Côtes du Rhône is usually a reliable option.

Tuscan-style sausages with beans

One of the most wine-friendly of sausage dishes with which you could drink a good Tuscan (or other Italian) red as recommended with this dish of roasted Italian sausages with borlotti beans and nduja sauce from Theo Randall.

Garlicky French sausages e.g. Toulouse

Work well with southern and south-west French wines of lesser known appellations such as Marcillac. Again particularly wine-friendly if accompanied by pulses such as haricot beans and lentils, as in a cassoulet. A modest Bordeaux wouldn’t go amiss.

Venison or beef sausages

Tend to have a slightly gamey flavour that generally goes with wines that pair well with game. More robust styles of Pinot Noir such as those from Central Otago, northern Rhône reds such as St-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage come to mind.

German-style sausages such as frankfurters and bratwurst

Definitely beer in my book. A light lager, pilsner or Kolsch for frankfurters, a slightly sweeter beer like a helles or golden lager for grilled brats. Try a crisp, dry Riesling if you don’t like beer.

Top photo by Martin Turzak at shutterstock.com

Top food pairings for cider (updated)

Cider has been going through the same quality revolution as beer did a few years ago. In the last 12 months I’ve tasted more interesting ciders than I have in the last 12 years.

So it’s a shame we don’t take it more seriously as a partner for food especially as many are now bottled in handsome-looking full-sized bottles.

There are many different styles, obviously, but here are the type of foods I think pair best with cider and some avenues that I think might be worth exploring:

Creamy or cider-based sauces

This is cider’s natural territory and the most useful type of dish to think to think in terms of (rather than focussing on chicken, pork or seafood which can be prepared in so many different ways). The sort of sauces you find in Normandy which, of course is cider’s heartland.

Think also of chicken casseroles or pies cooked with cider and sausages with cider (any dish cooked with onion and apples is an obvious match. Try this West Country Chicken Casserole with cider, apple and celery).

Creamy pasta bakes

Same reasoning as the above

Quiche

Especially quiche lorraine and leek quiche

Creamy vegetable or chicken soups - onion, mushroom, celery, fennel, leek . . .

Creamy risottos with similar flavourings

Ham and other cold cuts

Hot or cold. Cider is a good partner for boiled or roast gammon (and can also be used in the cooking liquid) and lovely with fat chunks of ham cut off the bone. It’s also good with other pork-based products like patés, terrines and rillettes (without too much garlic) and brawn or jambon persillé, Melton Mowbray (and other) pork pies and Scotch eggs.

Salads

Particularly those based on chicken, ham or cheese with a light creamy dressing or with apple as an ingredient though this smoked mackerel salad with pickled cucumber (below) was a winner with a traditional Spanish ‘ancestral’ cider.

Salmon

Try a dry cider with smoked or cured salmon like this dish with pickled apple and a dill emulsion I had in Norway last year. 

Brittany/Normandy style savoury crèpes

A terroir-based match. I particularly like buckwheat pancakes filled with ham or spinach and cheese and a Normandy cidre bouché (literally cider with a cork or sparkling cider)

Roast pork, especially with apples

Roast pork belly is great with cider. Especially with black pudding. Roast chicken too as you can see from this pairing.

Cheese

A great area to explore. Camembert and Camembert-style cheeses are the outstanding pairings but Cheddar and other English territorial cheeses such as Cheshire and Caerphilly, semi-hard cheeses like Gruyère, Beaufort and Appenzeller are all good. Pick a drier, lighter cider with goats’ cheese and a slightly sweeter one with washed rind cheeses like Pont L’Eveque and Stinking Bishop (neither of which should be too far gone) or a mellow, creamy blue like Barkham Blue. Cooked dishes like cauliflower cheese work with cider too.

More speculative matches

Pheasant and other feathered game

This is more speculative territory but I have a feeling more rustic, dry unfiltered ciders would go with dishes like pot roast pheasant with apples in much the same way as a gueuze. It works with a pheasant terrine as you can see from this Match of the Week so why not?

Mild curries

You could also try a medium dry cider with spicy Indian snacks or with a mild curry like a korma

Sweet and sour pork

So long as the ‘sweet’ element wasn’t too sweet and the cider had some sweetness of its own.

Basque style dishes with pimenton (paprika) and peppers

The Basque country either side of the Spanish border is also a big cider drinking area so it stands to reason they must drink it with Basque cuisine. Definitely worth trying.

Apple or apricot-based cakes and puddings

With sweeter ciders. I suspect they would work well with bread pudding and gingerbread too.

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